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Lost Palms Overnight
We have errands in Coachella, south of Joshua Tree National Park. We’ve never been to the south part of the park, so we leave the evening before and spend the night on the Lost Palms Oasis trail. I’ve somehow developed low expectations of the south end of the park, maybe because I perceived that all…
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Pixie Rock Topropes
We tentatively break out the climbing gear we’ve been hauling around unused for three months, and put a top rope on the easy slab climbs on Pixie Rock at Indian Cove. The sun is warm but goes away too early, well before 5 pm. Climbing seems familiar, but has become foreign to my body again.…
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urbancapture.com – custom Geo Mashup info windows
This urban-themed photography site uses Geo Mashup to locate images around the world. I replaced the Google info windows with customized info boxes using jQuery, along with a few other little interface enhancements, like highlighting the map marker for the featured home page image.
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Window Rock Loop
This hike takes us into the “maze” area of Joshua Tree National Park, where the rock piles are more dense and navigation can be difficult. There is a network of trails here that are well signed and fairly easy to follow, so long as you don’t wander off up or down a random wash. Occasionally…
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Contact Mine
We return to the cactus-filled arroyos and find the secret to this hike: if you’re good enough to navigate to the mine cross-country, a trail appears! There’s actually small network of decaying roads that must once have been used to access the mine. As soon as we walk a ways up the correct arroyo, there…
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Boy Scout Trail Overnight
Ann has the brilliant idea to combine two short day outings into an overnight. We leave in the late afternoon and hike almost until dark – enough time to get ourselves nicely ensconced in rocky terrain. Indian Cove Backcountry Trailhead Early Shade Canyon Twilight The temperature drops quickly while the full moon rises slowly. We…
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Not Contact Mine
Our map shows a trail to an old mine near the north entrance to Joshua Tree National Park, but when we arrive we find ourselves wandering up a wide, braided arroyo. I soon give up barefooting after having to pull two cactus fruits out of my foot in quick succession. We look up to the…
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Ryan Peak
Today we drive further into Joshua Tree to the Ryan Peak trail. We’re doing another hike, but I’m feeling growing urges to climb, for whatever reason. Ryan Peak Trailhead The summit provides great views over both the Colorado and Mojave deserts, but it’s hard to take your attention off of the alluring stacks of rock…
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Fortynine Palms Oasis
Ann picks the nearest hike in Joshua Tree National Park to get us started. There are enough rocks here to tickle a climber’s imagination, and the moon rises quietly above them. Fortynine Palms Canyon Trailhead Moonrise When I see the oasis, I realize that it looks just like an oasis, even though I’ve never seen…
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Sleepin’ in Twentynine Palms
We arrive in the sultry warm Mojave desert, near the spot where we were married, and what do we do? Stop at the first RV park we look at, close the blinds, and sleep. The next day: work and sleep. We think the freedom we have to travel should imbue us with boundless energy, but…